Lord Rooker: During the beef export ban, UK beef could be exported only after meeting strict traceability and processing criteria laid down in legislation. Following the EU decision on the 8 March to lift the ban on UK beef, it is expected that legislation to allow beef from Northern Ireland to be treated in Europe will be in force by the end of April. That is a very welcome move and will allow exports of Northern Ireland beef and cattle to resume as quickly as possible.
	Because of the beef export ban, Northern Irish beef has not been promoted in Europe. However, the Government have been proactive in recent months, undertaking a wide range of vital preliminary work in anticipation of the lifting of the ban. It has included commissioning extensive research into export market opportunities and assessing the export potential of Northern Ireland companies; the provision of access to Food From Britain's world-wide network of international buyer contacts; and funding a three-year, £1.2 million beef market restoration programme, carried out by the Livestock and Meat Commission, a major element of which aims to assist local companies develop successful export businesses in the long term.
	Under current EC state aid rules, the spending of public money on any promotional activity is severely restricted, and government support for promotion based solely on product origin is banned. However, I can assure the noble Lord that the Government will continue to make every effort to facilitate the complex and lengthy state aid approval process in order to maximise benefits to industry.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Department for Work and Pensions spending on external management consultants is set out below. The department was formed in June 2001, and therefore 2001–02 figure relates to the former DSS only. Full spend for the 2005–06 financial year will not be available until July 2006.
	Spending in 2003–04 represented the peak of the department's major modernisation programme with its high requirement for external expertise.
	
		
			 Financial year £ millions 
			 2001–02 23.79 
			 2002–03 47.57 
			 2003–04 223.35 
			 2004–05 98.64

Lord Rooker: The information requested by the nobel Lord is not available. The Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission (NIFTC) does not categorise its funding by cultural tradition. From June 2005, NIFTC has administered the Irish Language Broadcasting Fund (ILBF), and this is the only programme that the NIFTC runs that has a specific cultural criterion attached to it. No film projects were funded from the ILBF in 2005–06.

Lord Rooker: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) has a range of plans in place to improve access to emergency ambulance services throughout the province that take account of the particular needs of rural areas. They include the introduction of single-manned paramedic vehicles (rapid responders) capable of responding more quickly to an emergency and enable life-preserving treatment to be administered until a conventional ambulance arrives to transport the patient to hospital. The implementation of the advanced medical priority despatch system allows ambulance control to target resources to life-threatening calls and incorporates caller advice whereby callers are given advice on life-saving techniques until an ambulance arrives.
	The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has provided an additional £400,000 in 2006–07 to enable NIAS to secure additional deployment points to improve ambulance response times. NIAS is also working with a range of stakeholders, including the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, to introduce first and co-responder schemes whereby members of the public are trained in life-preserving first aid and can be called on in an emergency to stabilise a patient until an ambulance arrives.

Lord Rooker: Enrolments of students aged under 21 on science and technology degree courses at Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster in 1997–98 and 2004–05 are given below:
	
		
			  Queens University, Belfast University of Ulster 
			  1997–98 2004–05 1997–98 2004–05 
			 Medicine and dentistry 510 584 - - 
			 Subjects allied to medicine 346 881 743 1,360 
			 Agriculture and relatedsubjects 93 92 37 66 
			 Biological sciences 588 585 509 729 
			 Physical sciences 
			 Chemistry 121 95 - - 
			 Physics 88 91 - - 
			 Other physical sciences 321 499 256 187 
			 Mathematical sciences 236 225 56 17 
			 Computer science 193 519 391 827 
			 Engineering and technology 692 769 310 509 
			 Architecture, building andplanning 203 263 319 760 
			 Total 3,391 4,602 2,621 4,456 
		
	
	A new subject coding system was introduced for the 2002–03 academic year in which single enrolments were split over one or more subject groups reflecting the programme of study. Comparisons between 1997–98 and 2004–05 should therefore be viewed in this context. For comparability over the two years, figures are based on a snapshot of enrolments at 1 December within the academic year. Information on full-year enrolments on all higher education courses at NI institutions are available from 1996–97 and can be viewed at: www.delni.gov.uk/index/publications/pubs-stats/higher-education-enrolments.htm.
	Figures refer to students aged under 21 at the beginning of the relevant academic year.